In other words

To waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining, in the days of our children, the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Rain, rain, go away

Wednesday, 7:50 am

By Cyn

Mar

31

2010

and don’t come back for a lot of days! There was a sliver of sunshine this morning when I dropped my husband at the train, but it was short lived. A friend from the Berkshires wrote that the daffodils were painting themselves new shades of yellow...........ours here, while not out, are probably rotting in the soil.

We live in a town with rivers that tend to overflow with just a few days of rain, so you can imagine what is going on now. I have a friend who lives VERY close to the river and the last storm a few weeks ago she had over 6’ of water in her basement. I do not even know how you cope with that. Her comment was that she wished these 100 year floods would stop occurring every 5 or 6 years!

But we are lucky, our house sits high enough and even tho we are surrounded on three sides by woods-green belt-and a brook, we do not have an issue. I was watching Dusty (my cat--who SHALL be a topic one of these days) go up and down to the basement through her little cat door and since she has not been taking a life preserver with her or a towel and comes up dry, I figure it is OK. But just to be sure, I just went down and checked and dry as a bone. Neighbors on both sides have sump pumps (plural) and they have been running nonstop.

I joked yesterday about wanting a duckboat to bring me home--they actually are using them in several communities to transport people around. This is just crazy. Rhode Island is really under water.

I take some blame--I bought myself a new car a month ago--a cute little hardtop convertible with a sunroof!! So of course it figures it would rain virtually every day since I got it! But if the weather people are right, I might actually use it this weekend the way it was intended!! And then off to New Orleans for a week. WhooHoo.

Thank you again Kate for allowing me to play in your sandbox!! And thank you to all of you who are actually commenting on my nonsense. I am having fun. Of course I am neglecting my FaceBook page, but maybe that is a good thing!!

A little Boston Trivia for those who are not from here

Wednesday, 7:44 am

By Cyn

Mar

31

2010

The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury.

Due north of the center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End.

The bridge connecting Boston and Cambridge via Massachusetts Avenue is commonly know as the Harvard Bridge. When it was built, the state offered to name the bridge for the Cambridge school that could present the best claim for the honor. Harvard submitted an essay detailing its contributions to education in America, concluding that it deserved the honor of having a bridge leading into Cambridge named for the institution. MIT did a structural analysis of the bridge and found it so full of defects that they agreed that it should be named for Harvard. This is all true.

There is no school on School Street, no court on Court Street, no dock on Dock Square, and no water on Water Street. Back Bay Boston streets are in alphabetical oddah [order-for the uninitiated]: Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, etc. So are South Boston streets: A, B, C, D, etc.

If the streets are named after trees (e.g. Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you are on Beacon Hill. If they are named after poets, you are in Wellesley.

Massachusetts Avenue is Mass Ave. Commonwealth Avenue is Comm Ave. South Boston is Southie. The South End is the South End. East Boston is Eastie. The North End is east of the former West End. The West End and Scully Square are no more; a guy named Rappaport got rid of them one night. Roxbury is The Berree, Jamaica Plain is J.P.

Maybe one of these days I will get into pronunciations which can be hilarious!

Sexual Freedom Group Charges RNC With Hypocrisy

Wednesday, 7:36 am

By Cyn

Mar

31

2010

Jeffrey Montgomery, a founding member and spokesperson for the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, who has lobbied extensively to promote the idea that sexual freedom is a human right, charged the RNC and its chairman, Michael Steele with duplicity for posturing as moral purists at the same time that they were indulging their esoteric, voyeuristic impulses.

Could Noah build his ark today?

Wednesday, 7:32 am

By Cyn

Mar

31

2010

So, OK, I mentioned building an ark and a friend sent me this.......................If Noah had lived in the United States today the story may have gone something like this:

And the Lord spoke to Noah and said, “In one year, I am going to make it rain and cover the whole earth with water until all flesh is destroyed. But I want you to save the righteous people and two of every kind of living thing on earth. Therefore, I am commanding you to build an Ark.” In a flash of lightning, God delivered the specifications for an Ark. In fear and trembling, Noah took the plans and agreed to build the ark. “Remember,” said the Lord, “you must complete the Ark and bring everything aboard in one year.”

Exactly one year later, fierce storm clouds covered the earth and all the seas of the earth went into a tumult. The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard weeping. “Noah!” He shouted. “Where is the Ark?”

First, I had to get a permit for construction, and your plans did not meet the building codes. I had to hire an engineering firm and redraw the plans.
Then I got into a fight with OSHA over whether or not the Ark needed a sprinkler system and approved floatation devices.
Then, my neighbor objected, claiming I was violating zoning ordinances by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission.

Then, I had problems getting enough wood for the Ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to protect the Spotted Owl. I finally convinced the U.S. Forest Service that I really needed the wood to save the owls. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service won’t let me take the 2 owls.

The carpenters formed a union and went on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board before anyone would pick up a saw or hammer. Now, I have 16 carpenters on the Ark, but still no owls.

When I started rounding up the other animals, an animal rights group sued me. They objected to me taking only two of each kind aboard. This suit is pending.

Meanwhile, the EPA notified me that I could not complete the Ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed flood. They didn’t take very kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the conduct of the Creator of the Universe.

Then, the Army Corps of Engineers demanded a map of the proposed flood plain. I sent them a globe.

Right now, I am trying to resolve a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that I am practicing discrimination by not taking atheists aboard.

The IRS has seized my assets, claiming that I’m building the Ark in preparation to flee the country to avoid paying taxes. I just got a notice from the state that I owe them some kind of user tax and failed to register the Ark as a ‘recreational water craft’.

And finally, the ACLU got the courts to issue an injunction against further construction of the Ark, saying that since God is flooding the earth, it’s a religious event, and, therefore unconstitutional.
I really don’t think I can finish the Ark for another five or six years.”

Noah waited. The sky began to clear, the sun began to shine, and the seas began to calm. A rainbow arched across the sky.

Mornin'

Monday, 8:49 am

By Cyn

Mar

29

2010

Just another lovely day in the neighborhood. Was up early, showered, dressed and waiting for the Harvey Doors technician to come and replace my brand new front doors--the storm doors are defective. Moved my car out of the garage so I could get out without making them move their truck and then the phone rang. Technician is sick, can’t make it, no one else is available. I am sure that is true and of course who wants someone here that is sick, but it is still annoying because you rearrange your day [took the day off] to accommodate them. Ahhh well, we rescheduled for Friday - I do not work on Fridays - and told them I wanted the first appointment of the morning, none of this 8-12 crap. Time will tell.

And the rains are here as promised. Not sure exactly how much we are supposed to get over the next few days but I guess it is a lot. Not sure where it is going to go. Neighbors on each side of me have sump pumps running 24/7. Luckily our house sits just high enough that we seem to be OK. Plus when we built it, we had them put french drains around the outside of the house at the foundation level and do a few other things as well. Our first home had a sump in the cellar so we were just a little gun shy. At the time the builder told me I was crazy that I would never have a problem. I told him I did not care, that was what I wanted and that is what I got. Given the amount of rain we have had, I am ever so glad I stuck to my guns. Gee, listen to me--gun shy, stick to my guns--I must have been hanging out with Sarah Palin this weekend. HA

I met and listened to Niki Tsongas yesterday and came away very impressed--I had agreed to co-host a reception/fundraiser in her honor. She is very low key which may not serve her well in her reelection bid and hopefully she can motivate voters in other ways. But very thoughtful, very bright and very insightful. I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. Of course she spoke at length about the passage of the health care reform bill and I so wish some of the more strident opponents would have been there to listen...I think they might have come away with a different attitude. This whole thing just baffles me. I do not know everything in this bill, I doubt anyone does, but I think I actually know more than a lot of the naysayers.

Did you know, for example, that prior to the passage of this bill that women in some states could have been denied insurance or lost their coverage because they had a C-section once? Yes! Did you know women who were victims of abuse could lose coverage or be denied coverage prior to the passage of this bill? Yes! Did you know in some states women were charged as much as 50% more than men for the SAME coverage? Uh-huh! OH, and businesses in some states would not hire women because it would mean an instant jump in the insurance benefits to employees. Now I have to believe that if more people--women particularly-knew just a few of these facts, they might have a slightly different outlook. We here in Massachusetts are spoiled cause we are a liberal state and do not have to deal with a lot of this.

After listening to Niki and hearing some of these things, I understood why Nancy Pelosi said as she announced the passage of the bill, something to the effect of...’finally being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition.’

And now I am off to the dentist. Another crown!! I told my dentist that I have so many crowns now, I really ought to be the ruler of a third world country. Hell, with what I have paid for them, I could OWN a third world country.

Have a lovely day everyone.............heading to Kate’s neck of the woods this afternoon to see my brother’s new house. He and his girlfriend (he is wicked old--should I still say girlfriend??) just bought a house near the beach. And then line dancing tonight. Yup, line dancing. My friends and I go every Monday night at an Irish Pub in Lawrence. FUN!!